{"id":96711,"date":"2026-10-23T16:30:01","date_gmt":"2026-10-23T21:30:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/?p=96711"},"modified":"2026-10-23T16:34:25","modified_gmt":"2026-10-23T21:34:25","slug":"oneg-shabbat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/oneg-shabbat\/","title":{"rendered":"Oneg Shabbat"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOneg Shabbat\u201d refers to the social gathering, with refreshments, following Friday evening services. At their best, such events might include teaching, storytelling, and spirited communal singing.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Prouser_Joseph.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-40581 size-thumbnail lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Prouser_Joseph-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Prouser_Joseph-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Prouser_Joseph-350x350.jpg 350w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 150px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 150\/150;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-40581 size-thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Prouser_Joseph-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Prouser_Joseph-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Prouser_Joseph-350x350.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a>When Kiddush is included in Shabbat Eve services (in its historic origins, for the benefit of travelers and the less personally observant who might otherwise not hear this obligatory prayer), the Oneg Shabbat serves an important Halachic function. We thereby fulfill the requirement that Kiddush be recited b\u2019Makom Se\u2019udah \u2013 where the Shabbat meal is held (Pesachim 101; OH 273:1). This may well be the origin of the congregational Oneg Shabbat (popularly, but less precisely, the \u201cOneg\u201d).<\/p>\n<p>The term \u201cOneg Shabbat\u201d (and the ultimate function of such collations) is rooted in Isaiah 58:13-14&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you&#8230; call the Sabbath a delight (\u2018Oneg\u2019), the Lord\u2019s holy day honored&#8230;then you will delight (tit\u2019anag \u2013 from \u2018Oneg\u2019) and find favor with the Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Reprising Isaiah, the Shabbat Musaf Amidah asserts that \u201cthose who observe Shabbat and those who call Shabbat a delight (kor\u2019ei Oneg Shabbat) will rejoice in Your Kingdom&#8230; and delight (yit\u2019angu) in Your goodness\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Wholeheartedly delighting in Shabbat \u2013 not merely abiding by its prescriptions and prohibitions \u2013 is essential to an authentic Shabbat experience. To be Shomer Shabbat indicates one\u2019s religious compliance. Oneg Shabbat \u2013 truly to love and embrace Shabbat is&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>&#8230;simply a delight.<\/p>\n<p><em>Rabbi Joseph H. Prouser is the editor of \u201cMasorti: The New Journal of Conservative Judaism.\u201d The latest edition of Masorti published in the summer of 2026 and honors the American Sestercentennial. A subscription is $18 per annum. Print copies are available from Ben Yehuda Press and Amazon.<\/em><\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_toolbar\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/noscript><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_t=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"Tumblr\",\"Email\");var hupso_background_t=\"#EAF4FF\";var hupso_border_t=\"#66CCFF\";var hupso_toolbar_size_t=\"medium\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_url_t=\"\";var hupso_title_t=\"Oneg%20Shabbat\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share_toolbar.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9415],"tags":[8790,8795,8788,9156],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96711"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96711"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96711\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":96713,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96711\/revisions\/96713"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}